Richard Hooker of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity: Introductions; Commentary, Preface and Books I-Iv/Introductions; Commentary Books V-VIII (v. 6, Pts. 1 & 2) [Hardcover]

Richard Hooker (Author), W. Speed Hill (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1296 pages
• Publisher: Mrts (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0866981527
• ISBN-13: 978-0866981521
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.6 x 3.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,533,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Thorough Introduction to Hooker's Laws Available, May 13, 2005

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This review is from: Richard Hooker of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity: Introductions; Commentary, Preface and Books I-Iv/Introductions; Commentary Books V-VIII (v. 6, Pts. 1 & 2) (Hardcover)

Richard Hooker was, unarguably, the greatest theologian of Elizabethan England and his Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity are his greatest and most well-renowned work. This two-volume set, however, is not a translation of Richard Hooker's Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity but is, instead, a complete commentary on it. The first volume contains over 400 pages of essays (one on each book of Hooker's Laws), followed by a commentary on books I - IV. The second volume contains a commentary on books V - VIII, a list of Scriptural passages cited and a lengthy bibliography.

For those that are looking to get their hands on a commentary to Hooker's Laws, this is your one-stop shop. This set is part of the Folger Library of the Complete Works of Richard Hooker, which is edited by some of the greatest living historians and theologians in the English-speaking Anglican Communion. Therefore, if you are looking for a commentary, quite a lot of information on Hooker's theologya and on the early Church of England, this is your best place to start. Hooker is portrayed in the essays and commentary as part of the reformed English Catholicism that begins, in many ways, with Thomas Cranmer and his arguments with Calvinists and Roman Catholics are discussed in minute detail throughout the commentary (as one might expect!). In reading volume one alone, the average person (such as myself) is likely to learn as much about Hooker and company as s/he is ever likely to need to know.

Sadly, if you are looking to purchase Hooker's Laws, you need to keep looking. Besides the Complete Works available here on Amazon, there is a selection of the Laws in the series "Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought" and a modernized "translation" by Philip Secor of the most important section of the Laws (Book V) under the title "On Anglican Faith and Worship". But, this two-volume set will certainly complement any library of Anglican thought, and is the most thorough introduction to Hooker's Laws that you are likely to find.